


As if

by Dawnwritesit



Series: For the best [2]
Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Rivalry, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-11 07:30:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17442593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawnwritesit/pseuds/Dawnwritesit
Summary: Kun is a very popular ASMRtist who posts new videos weekly. Ten is an upcoming ASMR podcaster who starts posting his podcasts on YouTube. Everything starts collapsing when Ten switches from posting sound over immobile thumbnails to making videos, and his growing popularity starts to worry well-established Kun. As Kun's fanbase starts to decline he decides to deal with the matter his own way. How will Kun’s actions provoke such a butterfly effect that Ten's life will be impacted in an irreversible manner?





	As if

**Author's Note:**

> Synopsis: Ten meets with his best friend Lucas, but the advice he gives him has unexpected effects.  
> Chapter one of For the best series / YouTuber!AU

“I don’t know if it’s such a good idea...” Ten said, his slender fingers tracing around the lid of his drink.

Lucas raised one eyebrow and started to laugh. He let out a loud noise which sounded like a shriek before gaining back composure in another second. Ten watched him with distress in the eyes, and the sound had him leaning back in his chair.

“Are you kidding me?” Lucas continued as he put his hand on the table to give more strength to his arguments. “It’s the logical next step to your work. Don’t lie to me and tell me you’ve never thought of doing it.”

Ten’s body had a nervous jerk which made Lucas smirk. He knew that Ten couldn’t lie to him. Ten rolled his eyes and bit his lip, his fingers suddenly starting to tap of the side of his cup. 

“I hate you... so much,” Ten let out while brightly smiling. 

“There, there... let’s face it. It’s the best way for you to gain some more followers. It’s unfair to just cater to your little podcasts. I know you want more.”

On that point Lucas wasn’t completely right. Ten did not want more if it meant sacrificing important parts of his life and spending more time doing ASMR than focusing on his studies.

“I’m not sure I have the time for that, Yukhei. It takes a while to make videos.”

His shaking hand firmly grabbed his drink and he took a sip of it, his eyes not leaving Lucas’s. 

“Please.”

The tall man had put one of his hands on Ten’s free one. Surprised by the touch Ten had an uncontrollable shiver – he always forgot how warm Lucas was, in any circumstances, even there outside the café. Ten sighed and rolled his eyes once more. 

“Maybe...”

“YES!” Lucas immediately burst out, taking his hand away from Ten’s and throwing his arms to the sky. “I knew you wouldn’t resist.”

“But... listen to me. I... We agree that it’s just posting the recordings of my sessions on YouTube, right? I will not show my face on there, I don’t want people I know to realize that I’m TenderASMR... I know some people on campus who...”

“You worry way too much. Let things go, please. You need to.”

Lucas’s eyes were looking into Ten’s as he talked, his gaze almost piercing them. He always knew how to be persuasive. Ten felt his throat dry up so he took another sip. 

“I already said I would relax... It’s my specialty, isn’t it?”

Ten’s comment made Lucas laugh again. He quietly nodded and let him continue. 

“So... I think I could post my session recordings on YouTube... But I definitely need to rework them so I can’t post them before a Thursday or even Friday...”

“You don’t have any stored already?”

Ten raised one eyebrow at Lucas’s remark. Always on the spot. 

“I actually do...”

Before letting him finish Lucas bolted up from his chair, startling Ten. 

“Then let’s go! I’m taking you home and we’re working things out.”

Embarrassed by his friend Ten felt his face turn red and chuckled. He emptied his drink and followed Lucas, who was leading the way to Ten’s apartment.  
Ten sat to his desk as usual, as if he was going to start a session, except this time he immediately switched his laptop on and that Lucas’s presence felt somehow odd.

“I always try to keep personal recordings of my podcasts so I can rework them but I never have the time to...” Ten commented while browsing through his files.

Lucas’s eyes doubled in size when he saw how many recordings there were. 

“How come... how is there so many of them...?”

Ten blushed some more, and stuttered an answer. 

“It’s... it’s just that I had started to rework audios at first, just for myself... I just cut some particular moments I enjoyed and kept them separate...”

Lucas smirked. 

“For someone who didn’t want to spread his passion with more than podcasts you already did quite an amount of work...”

He was openly teasing Ten but he wasn’t destabilized. 

“You know I’m a perfectionist, Yukhei. You can’t blame it on me.”

“I know. I’m just saying that you could’ve started to post on YouTube since forever now.”

“I guess...” Ten continued, not entirely assured “I just needed a little push.”

Lucas smiled and lightly punched Ten’s shoulder. 

“There you have it. Now let’s open this channel and make this first video!”

Touched by Lucas’s support Ten followed his advices and together they worked on setting Ten’s personal ASMR YouTube channel. It took the two of them until late in the evening but once it was done Ten was left with a feeling of satisfaction. Reworking the audio had taken the most of their time, and they had done what could be done with what Ten had, but at least it was done. Ten decided to post the video the next day, and in order to thank Lucas he bought takeaway – which Lucas devoured with love for Ten in his eyes. When Lucas left Ten meditated before going to bed, trying to get over all the stressful sensations and thoughts which were overwhelming him.

All the meditation in the world wouldn’t have been enough to counter what he felt once the video was posted. As he clicked the button to release the video his stomach turned and his palms were abundantly sweating. “It’s all good, it’s fine, my face isn’t there, it’s nothing, it’s just to share what I do to more people, it’s all good,” Ten whispered to himself, wiping his hands on his pants. More than anything he didn’t want to disappoint. Even if he was terrified by success he was equally fearing failure. Now that it was done it had to work. “If it doesn’t I can always just stick to podcasts...” Ten forced himself to think, despite the hole he felt in his heart. 

“To: Lukhei

It’s up.”

“From: Lukhei

I know I’m watching it right now. I think it’s well-done! We just have to wait.”

“To: Lukhei

Please, I’m dying inside. Can we go out so I forget about it?”

“From: Lukhei

As long as you pay for food!”

“From: Lukhei

Jk. I’m picking you up in a bit, get ready. And please BREATHE.”

Ten put his phone down and ran to the bathroom to shower. Lucas was right, he needed to relax – the problem was that he didn’t know how to, and he hoped that staying out all day would clear his mind. As Ten showered he focused on his breath and forced his brain to go blank. He felt every single drop of water run down his skin, only allowing himself to focus on the present.

Ten got dressed and as soon as he was ready to step out he did, not waiting for Lucas’s text. He refused to stay longer in his apartment, mainly because it meant that he had access to his computer. For fifteen minutes he waited for Lucas in front of his building and as Lucas’s silhouette appeared Ten quickly walked to him, attitude which surprised Lucas.

“Are you alright?” was the first thing that came out of Lucas’s mouth. 

“No, not really,” Ten confessed as he continued to walk fast, forcing Lucas to walk faster to catch up with him. “Can we get busy already? I need to stop thinking about it.”

Lucas smiled and caught Ten by the arm to stop him. 

“Hey! Slow down. I can help you change your mind but you need to slow down and let go. I’ve already told you that a thousand times I think.”

Ten looked into Lucas’s eyes and pouted. 

“I know but... I don’t understand why it’s so hard...”

“You’re pressuring yourself too much... I have a friend who does that too, but the difference is that this person is fueled by this sensation. You need to try to do that.”

Ten frowned, his mouth not moving from the pout. 

“Hmph. I’ll... make some efforts?”

Lucas chuckled and grabbed him by the shoulders, leading him on into the city. 

“That’s what I like to hear! Now where to first? Shopping? Or we can check the karaoke and see if any rooms are available? I feel like you could use screaming into a microphone for once.”

His words made the pair laugh and Ten felt himself relax for the first time that day. He knew that Lucas would be providing everything he needed for the day, and he wasn’t disappointed. Since the karaoke was full the pair booked a room for the evening and instead went bowling together. As expected Ten won, and somehow Lucas found a way to twist his win into Ten having to buy him lunch. He gladly accepted and the day continued with some shopping, and finally the karaoke they had looked forward to. Into the night Lucas and Ten sang their hearts out and needless to say that Ten had forgotten about his first video. 

“Can you... can you stay with me a little more?” Ten asked Lucas as he walked him home.

Lucas warmly smiled and agreed. 

“We can check the video views together if that’s what you mean. It’ll be fine I’m sure.”

Ten forced a smile and pushed open the door of his apartment building. Lucas was quietly following him but his mind was racing: he could feel how stressed Ten was, and even sensed that he was shaking with all his being. Lucas passed his hands on Ten’s shoulders as he was standing behind him in the elevator. 

“Relax. I’m sure it’s doing well,” Lucas whispered in a deep and suave voice.

Ten heard Lucas but did not take notice of his words. He was overwhelmed by his own sensations, and he was choking on his heartbeats.

Ten threw himself on his couch as the pair entered the apartment, and he immediately grabbed his laptop. “Come on, come on, come on. Yukhei hold me. HOLD ME!” Ten let out as he smashed the computer keys to wake it up from sleep mode. 

Lucas dropped his bag next to the couch and slipped next to Ten. He did as he had ordered and held him tight against him; Ten was immediately soothed by his warmth. His fingers were shaking and he barely controlled them as they found the pad. With his eyes closed he opened the tap he had left open – the one of his video – and with only one eye open pressed the keys to refresh it. Ten was holding his breath so hard that Lucas felt like he was breathing for the two of them. 

“Oh wow...”

Lucas’ murmur forced Ten’s eyes open. Tears were already coming, even before he had read the number. 

“No... n-no...” he let out, other words strangled in his throat. 

“I told you! Who told you? I. Told. You! I’m so proud of you, oh my god!”

Ten felt Lucas hold him tighter again but he was feeling numb. He couldn’t believe it. In less than 24 hours he had surpassed 50,000 views, and with that had doubled his usual podcast audience. 

“Yukhei... Yukhei... is it for real?”

Lucas loosened his embrace and gently shook Ten. 

“Yes it is! And it’s only going up! You’re doing it!”

A smile blossomed on Ten’s face, accompanied by quiet tears. Lucas softly wiped them away with his thumb while hushing him. 

“I’m... I’m doing it...” Ten incredulously repeated, his eyes fixed on the wall behind Lucas.

His friend took the laptop away from his knees and left it on the table. 

“I’m so proud of you,” Lucas said as he hugged Ten. 

“Thank you... thank you for pushing me, Yukhei...” Ten whispered, letting himself be hugged as he felt like you had been drained of all his energy.

Lucas let go of Ten and fondly smiled.

“This is just the beginning. And until you gather enough confidence, I’ll have some for you.”

—

Three days later Ten’s video was on the rising videos page on YouTube. It had known such a boost of views in so little time that other ASMRtists were taking interest in him; they were wondering who he was, what he looked like, what was planned for his next video, or if anything had been planned at all. In 72 hours his video had reached 145,000 views, which was more than a powerful beginning.

Kun was getting ready to post his weekly video when his attention was caught by the unusual thumbnail of one of his “Recommended for You” videos. He raised one eyebrow and dismissed it, instead focusing on his routine and on the video he was posting. He had spent way too many hours on it and he was exhausted; he hadn’t been able to sleep properly or eat enough, lost in his editing. Posting the video felt like a relief and he finally allowed himself to go shower. On his way to the bathroom he gathered the pile of clothes which had accumulated on his floor and carelessly dropped them in the washing machine. Kun turned the water on and started the washing machine: “The sound will rock me to sleep,” he thought, breaking into a smile. He desperately began to feel the need for sleep, and even though he was fighting it still he knew that he was finally able to get some rest. He closed his eyes and let the water drip down his face, the wet and steamy atmosphere infiltrating his muscles. As he tried to progressively empty his mind images flashed in front of him, one of them being the thumbnail of Ten’s video. It was a simple but appealing one, and Kun remembered that he felt as if the image had been infused with something. Passion. Love. He turned around and rubbed his hands on his face, as if to try to dismiss the image. As Kun stepped out the shower he was struck with another memory of the video: the name was the same as the podcast he had listened to. In his robe he hurried out of the bathroom and sat back down to his desk. He dismissed the page of his own video – which he was sure was already doing well – and searched for the video. The search wasn’t too long. Kun found Ten in his recommended videos, and to find him there made him smile. 

“So it’s you again huh...” he murmured, nonetheless clicking on the link.

He hurried once more to connect his headphones to his computer and eagerly waited to listen to what he could do outside of live circumstances. Once again his brain felt like it was wrapped in a perfect atmosphere. Sound wasn’t too loud or harsh – to Kun’s surprise it was balanced way better than what he had heard in the podcast. By crossing media thresholds Ten had done better, and Kun could sense his dedication through every single sound vibration. When the first tingle reaction came he refused to believe it and took his headphones off at once. They loudly slammed onto the keyboard, and Kun helplessly stared at them. As much as he hated to admit it, he was immune to tingles; if anything it was a fact he was willing to keep secret. For an ASMRtist being immune to tingles was a problem because it meant that one had to work extra hard to make sure that their video would have any effect on others. It was Kun’s case; or at least it was what he had thought until that night. He moved away from his desk and turned off the light, not bothering to stop the video. It ran until its end, and even though Kun wasn’t listening to it he could still hear the sounds Ten was making in his head as he was lying in bed. A pit opened in his stomach but he refused to acknowledge it. After all Ten was no serious concurrent: the video was his first and maybe his last. “It has to be a onetime thing,” Kun told himself, not yet knowing that he was being blatantly delusional.


End file.
